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A rich young man who kept the commandments asked Jesus what else he needed to do to have eternal life. This is a good question to ask God. Try it and see if perhaps you should give up something or take something on. At least you will know....

Jesus said: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." He did not say that he would take away our burden, but he will refresh us and give us the strength to carry our burdens.

From the prophet Micah today, we hear that even though we sin, God will not abandon us, but will save us, even when we fail. We should not take advantage of this message, having appropriate shame for our sins, but should take hope that what God has created, God will not abandon, despite our sin.

Fr. James Marchionda, OP breaks open the readings for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, reminding us that God is always near, but always remains a mystery as well, because God, like suffering, is incomprehensible.

Readings: Job 38:1, 8–11, 2 Corinthians 5:14–17, Mark 4:35–41

Jesus said, "you have heard, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil." This is a difficult saying for us to embrace. It is difficult not to retaliate against evil, but God says "no." To help, imagine what God thinks looking at the devastation in the cities of Ukraine and Gaza.

In Jesus' parables of the Kingdom of God, he teaches us that God is always working within us in hidden ways to bring about great things. We just need to trust that grace, and let God be God.

When it was reported that people who were not his disciples were driving out demons in his name, Jesus did not try to stop them, or get them to join his group, but told his disciples "whoever is not against us is for us." Can we acknowledge gifts of others for ministry without needing them to conform to our own theological views or become members of our own church?

The Letter of James asks where the wars and conflicts among us come from, and then the Gospel describes an argument the disciples had about who was the greatest among them. To follow Jesus we need to serve one another in a spirit of true humility.

The persecution of the early community forced it to spread out and to preach the Good News not only to Jews, but to Greeks as well, and great numbers became Christians. In the same way, our lives need to expand the witnessing of the Good News so that it reaches everyone.

Jesus says, "I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved," and he lets in a lot of people who are not like us. Are there people that we would not let in?

God gave the prophet Isaiah "a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them." We need more of this gift today.

The prophet Isaiah tried and thought he failed, but then was promised that by God's hand he would become a light to the nations. God can use each of us in this task, not because of our greatness, but because of God's.